A: Nothing surprising here; the biggest trends impacting staffing are and will be the economy and AI. More and more organizations are looking to cut staff and do more with less: and that trend will likely continue as AI continues to mature.
The real thing to watch is which organizations cut too much and let their customer experience( CX) suffer.
How will that impact their long-term sustainability? My guess is that some organizations will overcorrect- laying off too much of their workforce- and as a result, their contact center experience will plummet. That kind of short-term thinking can cause customers to look elsewhere for services.
Tech startups are especially vulnerable here. Many are still defining their CX and are more prone to chasing the“ next big thing.” They’ ll lean heavily into automation without realizing they’ re weakening a key differentiator. They may not realize the damage until it’ s too late: and some of the hypergrowth they’ re banking on will fall short.
Retail may be a space to watch. Many retailers have already gone through painful cuts due to online shopping. The ones still standing have learned tough lessons and, in some cases, figured out how to balance online and in-person experiences. I think they may be less tempted to cut corners in ways that damage customer service.
Contact centers already walk a tightrope when it comes to balancing cost and experience. The added pressure of economic constraints and the promise of AI creates a real temptation to cut corners. I hope more organizations realize the value of a well-run, well-supported contact center and invest accordingly.
Some companies will get it wrong and pay the price. But the smart ones- those that invest strategically instead of reactively- will build something sustainable and differentiated in a crowded market. There’ s still a lot of room for organizations to get this right.
IS WFM KEEPING UP OR IS IT, AND ITS EXECUTION, LAGGING BEHIND?
A: Implementation of WFM is keeping pace. We continue to see widespread adoption:
• Some organizations are just now being introduced to WFM and its capabilities.
• Others are starting to lean into automation and self-scheduling.
• And some are going even further, implementing AI-based automation and enabling their WFM teams to expand their impacts beyond the contact center and into the broader organization.
From my perspective, WFM is still a strong career path for young professionals. There’ s a ton of evolution still to come, and every organization is at a different place in the maturity curve.
But the software itself has been lagging. While a few players are getting creative, many of the big platforms haven’ t evolved in years: some in five to 10 years, honestly.
Because WFM is still new to many companies, the software still meets a basic need. But that’ s not the same as innovation.
It’ s also worth clarifying our language around AI. When vendors say“ AI,” they’ re often referring to advanced automation or more complex forecasting: not large language models( LLMs) or machine learning in a true sense.
That confusion is slowing down innovation across the board. A more accurate label might be“ automated intelligence” rather than“ artificial intelligence.”
That said, some platforms like Intradiem and QStory are gaining traction by automating real-time actions and helping teams make smarter adjustments throughout the day. That kind of innovation has real potential: if we stop chasing buzzwords and start focusing on real use cases that solve real problems.
" CONTACT CENTERS ALREADY WALK A TIGHTROPE WHEN IT COMES TO BALANCING COST AND EXPERIENCE. THE ADDED PRESSURE OF ECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS AND THE PROMISE OF AI CREATES A REAL TEMPTATION TO CUT CORNERS."
-- DAN SMITLEY
IS AUTOMATION, SPECIFICALLY THAT INTENDED TO DECREASE / AVOID HIRING AGENTS, INCREASING IN THE CONTACT CENTER? AND IF SO, WHAT EFFECT IS IT HAVING AND WILL IT HAVE ON ENSURING STAFFING LEVELS?
A: The idea that self-service and call deflection would take care of the easy stuff- leaving the complex work to agents, who have been upskilled and trained on it- has been assumed and anticipated for five to 10 years.
But in reality, we’ ve seen very limited examples of that actually happening. More often, what happens is automation is implemented, customers self-serve, and then staff is cut.
20 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE